This invention relates to improvements in vehicle seats. The invention is particularly applicable to aircraft seats.
In keeping with reclinable seat arrangements in general, a typical aircraft passenger seat comprises a seat part, a seat back, a leg rest and a pair of arm rests. The seat back is movable between an upright position and a reclined position in which the back is at an attitude that is closer to the horizontal. The leg rest is likewise movable between a lowered position in which it is tucked out of the way against the front of the seat, and a raised position in which the leg rest forms an effective extension of the seat portion.
The more elaborate types of aircraft seats are configurable as an approximation of a bed. These are of particular benefit on long haul flights. Such an arrangement is usually found in first class accommodation where the space afforded each passenger""s seat is at its greatest. However, even though a greater amount of space is provided for each seat in first class accommodation, there are still severe restrictions on space and weight that must be considered when designing the seat itself and the arrangement of the seats in the cabin.
When the seat back is reclined and the leg rest is raised, the seat occupant is able to rest in a recumbent posture more comfortable for sleeping. Although the first class seat is wide in comparison to economy and business class seats, it is still restricted as a bed. A considerable amount of the width is taken up in the side arms which are made as part of the structure within which the seat components are mounted. In conventional thinking, the fact that arm rests are necessary is put to advantage by using them as stowage space for a foldable table, and seat and entertainment controls, etc. However, if anything, their additional uses have tended to increase the width of the arms. This requires that the seat portion be narrower or the seat as a whole be wider.
It is an object of the invention to provide a more comfortable sleeping arrangement than the prior art reclined seat allows.
According to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a seat for an aircraft, comprising a seat portion, at least one side arm and a side member adjacent the or each arm, the at least one side arm being movable between a deployed position, in which an upper surface of the side arm is arranged as an arm rest in relation to the seat, and a retracted position, in which the side arm is moved from the deployed position to create a greater width of seat.
Also according to the invention, there is provided a seat for an aircraft cabin composing a seat portion, a back portion and at least one side arm, the back portion being movable between upright and reclined positions, and the seat portion being movable forwardly to accommodate the back portion in the reclined position, wherein the at least one side arm is movable forwardly with the seat portion.
Another aspect of a reclinable aircraft passenger seat is the movement of the seat back into the xe2x80x9cspacexe2x80x9d of the passenger behind. A seat, defined from somewhere behind the back of the seat in front to the seat back, is a form of territory. The passenger is likely to feel that space invaded by reclining the seat back of the seat in front into it. Even in the relatively less dense seating in first class accommodation, this can be irritating. Passengers paying premium rates for first class travel are least inclined to put up with this type of encroachment into their territory.
To address this, it has been proposed to define the territory the passenger occupies by means of a fixed shell in which the seat is adjustable. Within the confines of the shell, the passenger is able to adjust the seat such that the passenger behind is unaware of any adjustment. The seat has a fixed space defined by the shell that is not modified by the actions of the occupant at any time. However, the seat inside a fixed shell is likely to be elaborate, complicated and costly in correction. It is also likely to be significantly heavier because of the extra padding required. The fixed shell is also a compromise on the versatility of the seat adjustment if the shell is not to be excessively large in the first place.
It is also an object of the invention to accommodate versatile adjustment of the seat without compromising the space available to other passengers.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an aircraft in which the inboard line of seats includes rows of pluralities of seats arranged in a mutually converging relationship.
Furthermore, the provision of ancillary equipment such as a television monitor, a table surface, stowage space, etc. have been provided according to largely the same formula up to now. For example, the television monitor or table surface is stored in the seat. This is often inconvenient to use, requiring a sequence of maneuvers to bring the item into usable position. It can also add to the bulk of the side of the seat when space requirements may place an emphasis on making the seat as narrow as possible.
The invention also provides a passenger seat for an aircraft composing a seat and a console in front of the seat the console containing ancillary equipment for use by the seat occupant.
Another object of the invention is to provide ancillary equipment in a space-efficient and convenient arrangement in a seat for an aircraft.
Thus, also according to the invention there is provided a stowable table for a vehicle accommodation unit, comprising a bulkhead panel for supporting the table, a table top pivotably mounted to the bulkhead to be pivotable between an deployed position and a stored position about a pivot point which is recessed in relation to the bulk head, and a groove defined in the bulk head, the top being receivable, in the deployed position, along the groove such that the top is maintained in the deployed position when received in the groove.
The invention also provides a seat for an aircraft comprising a seat, a console for ancillary equipment in front of the seat, a side unit extending from one side of the seat to the console and having a guide therein, a table surface mounted to run along the guide between a stowed position in the console and a deployed position outside the console.
According to the invention, there is further provided a display screen console for a vehicle accommodation unit comprising a display screen, a display screen storage space and a storage space cover in which the storage space cover is movable to an open position to allow the display screen to be moved between a display position and stowed position and the storage space cover is further movable to a closed position to cover the stowage space when the display screen is in either position.
Another problem associated with the reclined aircraft passenger seat configured as a bed is that it has marked undulations defined by the different attitudes at which the back, seat portion and leg rest lie. A normal bed is flat. This allows the various contours of the human form to be accommodated by the cushioning effect that a mattress has. It is far less the case with a reclinable aircraft seat unless the design of the seat is of sufficient complexity to allow the seat components to lie flat. The added complexity may have attendant space and weight disadvantages.
If the undulating form of the reclined seat can be considered to have peaks and troughs, the rise to the peak at which the end of the seat meets the leg rest generally coincides with the hip bone of the recumbent occupant. This is an unyielding extremity that should be absorbed by a cushioning part of the seat, but is not. Similarly, the waist region above the hip is often a recess in the human form. This is met by a trough at the junction of the seat back and the seat portion which can be painful on the spine if the occupant sleeps on one side for an extended period.
As a further complication, the seat must be able to adopt configurations intermediate to the fully upright and bed positions. In so doing, the seat components should be arrangeable in a form that is sympathetic with the body in a recumbent, but not supine, posture.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a seat that can adopt a bed configuration and is able to support the recumbent human form more comfortably.
According to the invention, there is also provided a seat for an aircraft comprising a seat portion and a back portion, the back portion being movable between a substantially upright and a reclined position in relation to the seat portion, the seat portion being movable forwardly to accommodate the back portion in the reclined position, the seat fuller comprising a first member arranged toward the front of the seat portion, which member is adjustable as a support to compensate for undulations in the seat when the back portion is in the reclined position.
The facilities associated with an aircraft seat often include a table that can be folded away when it is not needed. Conventionally, a foldable table is stowed in the area of the seat. However, it has now been recognized that the table can be stowed not as part of the seat itself to allow greater flexibility in seat design.
Thus, it is also an object of the invention to provide a stowable table for a vehicle accommodation unit that is arranged to have less impact on the design of the seat.
While the seating in a first class cabin of an aircraft is considerably less dense than it is in business or economy class, the arrangement of the seats in rows is not conducive to affording the seat occupants much privacy. It is possible to install small screens between seats that can be raised and lowered by one of the occupants at will. However, the act of raising the screen can be viewed as an anti-social act in itself which may make some people reticent about using it at all. It is preferable to arrange the seats to afford the same requisite level of privacy, such that erection of further privacy aids by the seat occupant is likely to be needed.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a seat arrangement that affords a sense of a greater degree of privacy than is commonly used seating arrangements in vehicle accommodations.
Further problems with known consoles arise when maintenance, repair, installation or removal of a seating unit is required. In order to keep aircraft ground time as low as possible, it is desirable to be able to carry out those steps as quickly as possible. To facilitate rapid access to the fastenings holding each seating unit in place, in particular those provided behind the unit, it is preferable to provide a gap of 3xe2x80x3 (7.5 cm) between the back of one console and the front console of the unit behind. This allows the bolts or other fastenings to be easily reached and provides room for manipulation of the work tools. In known systems incorporating a fixed shell behind the back portion of the seat, this gives rise to problems, in particular over a number of seating units, in that, the amount of cabin space available is reduced.
It is an object of the invention to provide an aircraft seat capable of being accessed for removal or maintenance quickly and easily.
According to the invention, there is provided a seat for an aircraft comprising a seat portion, a back portion which is movable between an upright position and a reclined position, and a back shell arranged behind the back portion, at least a lower portion of the shell being movable rearwardly to accommodate the back portion in the reclined position.
In the upright position, therefore, working space for maintenance, etc. is provided behind the back shell. However, when the seat moves into the reclined position, this space is filled. As a result, the fastenings behind the seat are easily accessible without any reduction in the cabin space available for passenger accommodation.
The present invention is defined in the accompanying independent claims. Some preferred features of the invention are recited in the dependent claims.